Descent to Madness
by Pixielit
Summary: A new hospital has opened in Midgar, and Aerith decides to apply for a job.  Unfortunately, she gets assigned to the psych ward where Tifa and Zack work.  As she quickly finds out, not all of the patients are normal cases...
1. Chapter 1

**D****escent to Madness**

By Pixielit

**Chapter One**

Aerith Gainsborough walked through the revolving doors and resisted the urge to go through again just for the fun of it. She walked up to the front desk, where a brunette with pretty eyes the color of dark chocolate stood looking through a stack of papers. "Hi, I'm Aerith. I have an interview with Dr. Hollander."

The girl looked up and smiled. "Hey, Aerith. I'm Tifa. I don't actually work the front desk, but I _can_ show you where Dr. Hollander's office is." She set down the stack of papers and looked around. After a moment of searching, her eyes lit up. "Zack! Come work the desk, I have to take Aerith to see Dr. Hollander."

"Where's Elena?" The man grumbled.

"Lunch break," Tifa said quickly. "Aerith, this is Zack Fair. Zack, this is Aerith. She's got an interview with Dr. Hollander."

The man gave Aerith a long, appreciative look. She blushed as his bright blue eyes met hers again. "Nice to meet you, Aerith." He turned to Tifa. "I got the desk, Teef. Hey, why don't you go check on Cloud while you're headed that way? He's asking for you."

Tifa's tan cheeks turned slightly pink. "That's a good sign, if he's asking for people."

"Don't get your hopes up just yet," Zack warned. Tifa nodded.

"Come on, Aerith. Dr. Hollander's office is this way."

* * *

><p>Tifa pushed open the door slowly, trying not to make too much noise. "Cloud? I brought you some food."<p>

"Tifa," Cloud said. She smiled at him and set the tray down next to his bed.

"Are you hungry, Cloud?"

"That's not my name."

"Okay." Tifa nodded. "What's your name?"

"Tifa."

Her heart gave a painful lurch but she gave him an indulgent smile. "No, Cloud. _My_ name is Tifa. Remember? Tifa Lockhart. We talked about this yesterday."

Cloud's lips pulled down at the corners. "No."

Tifa sighed. "Okay. Well, eat up. I have to get back to work." She started toward the door.

"Tifa." She turned.

"Yes, Cloud?"

But he didn't say anything more. She sighed again and left the room, making sure to close the door completely. She started down the stairs, feeling as drained as if she had already worked a full shift.

"Teef?"

She looked up to see Zack, who was standing in front of her on the stairs, and jumped. _Come on, Lockhart, you can't let this get you down._ She smiled. "Hey, Zack."

"You okay?" She nodded. "It's hard seeing him like that, isn't it?" Another nod. Zack put a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay, Teef. We'll get him back eventually."

Another heart lurch, another forced smile. _Eventually_ was not what she wanted to hear. "Thanks, Zack." She slipped out from under his hand.

"Hey, you want to come with me to check on Yuffie?"

Tifa shook her head. "I'm going to get some lunch. Is Elena at the front desk again?"

"Yep. Got back about two minutes ago." Zack leaned against the rail. "Hey, if you wait about ten minutes, I'll come with you."

She hesitated.

"I need to talk about it too, Tifa."

She nodded. "Ten minutes."

* * *

><p>"Thank you, Miss Gainsborough. I think you will be the perfect addition to our staff. How soon can you start?"<p>

"As soon as you need me to," Aerith said readily.

"After lunch?"

"Of course."

"Fantastic. For today, Miss Lockhart will help you. Go out and get some lunch, and then return here by one o'clock, okay?"

She nodded. "Thank you, Dr. Hollander." She shook his hand and left the office. _Who is Miss Lockhart?_

"Aerith! Hey, how did it go?"

"I got the job," Aerith said, grinning at Tifa. "I start after lunch."

"That's great!" Tifa smiled. Aerith nodded, and then bit her lip.

"Um... who's Miss Lockhart? I'm supposed to ... why are you laughing?"

"That's me," Tifa laughed. "Tifa Lockhart, at your service."

Aerith blushed. "Oh, I'm sorry!"

"Don't worry about it." Tifa smiled again. "Hey, I was just getting ready to go out to lunch; do you want to come with me?"

"Sure."

"We just have to wait for Zack. He's checking on one of the other patients... hey, why don't we get you a uniform while we wait?" Tifa started down a hallway. "This is the break room. We keep the extra uniforms in here." She pulled open a cupboard. "Let's see... you look like a size 4..." She pulled out a uniform and held it up in front of Aerith with a critical eye. "Try it on."

"H-here?"

"Bathroom's that way." Tifa motioned with her head to one side. Aerith looked and saw a door marked 'bathroom'. She took the uniform and went into the bathroom.

She changed quickly. The uniform was a perfect fit, just a tad long on the sleeves. She dusted off the black pants and finished buttoning up the white jacket, then went out to see Tifa.

Aerith did a tiny pirouette, showing off the uniform.

Tifa grinned. "Perfect fit! I am _good_. Let's just tie your hair back..." She snatched up a white ribbon and tied it into Aerith's hair.

"Are you and Zack dating?" Aerith asked curiously as Tifa pulled her own hair back into a loose ponytail.

Tifa laughed. "No. Zack is just a friend."

"Are you close?"

"We've been friends for a while. We have a mutual friend... He's a patient here, now."

"What happened to him?" Aerith's voice was muted.

Tifa shrugged. "A bad fall." Aerith could tell that the topic pained the other girl and let it drop.

"Teef! Ready to – oh, hey, Aerith, right?" Zack grinned at the two girls. "Lucky me."

"Zack," Tifa sighed, shaking her head. A moment later she smiled, giving up on chiding the man. "How was Yuffie?"

Zack shrugged and pulled off the white jacket, revealing a black shirt underneath. He opened the locked cabinet and pulled out a black coat. "She's Yuffie. Still insanely cheerful. You know, she found a mouse this morning. Killed it."

Aerith shuddered. "And then," Zack continued, turning to Tifa with a raised eyebrows.

"She didn't," Tifa groaned.

Zack nodded in confirmation. "She laughed. She was _still_ laughing when I went in there."

"Poor girl," Tifa sighed. "I wish Dr. Hollander could figure out what's wrong with her."

Silence lasted for a few seconds. Then Zack grinned. "All right, let's go. I'm starving."

* * *

><p><strong>A<strong>**uthor's Note:**

Wow, not bad if I do say so myself. I have another story I'll upload when I'm actually back at my own computer and have access to the file… Haha. Okay, now go hit that little button that says 'Review' and tell me what you think! Or keep reading. Doesn't much matter to me :P


	2. Chapter 2

**Descent to Madness**  
><strong>By Pixielit<strong>

Chapter Two

"So how long have you been working at the hospital?" Aerith asked Tifa as they walked to the café.

"About a year. Ever since Cloud's . . . accident."

Zack was walking a bit ahead of them, uncharacteristically moody.

"And . . . Zack?" Aerith asked softly.

"He's been working there since it opened. At first it was – what, an internship?" Tifa raised her voice to include Zack. He glanced back and nodded, smiling a little. "And then they wanted to keep him."

"Tifa was at med school with me," Zack said, slowing to walk on Aerith's other side. "She decided not to work, though, since her and Cloud . . ." He trailed off as they reached the café, glancing at Tifa for permission to continue.

"Cloud and I were living together before the accident," Tifa said simply. "He had a job that paid well, and my dad needed help at his bar, so after med school I just worked there."

"And then after the accident," Zack began, sitting down across from Tifa and motioning Aerith to sit next to him. "After the accident, Tifa started volunteering at the hospital. It didn't take long for them to hire her; the psych ward is always low on nurses."

The discussion came to a halt as their waitress appeared.

"What can I get you today?"

She was pretty, with hazel eyes and auburn hair. She wasn't much taller than Aerith. Zack grinned when he saw her. "Cissnei, hey. The usual."

"Same," Tifa chimed in with a smile. Cissnei turned to Aerith with a questioning look.

"I-I'm sorry, I don't know what's on the menu," Aerith said apologetically. Zack grinned again.

"New customer special," he told Cissnei. "Extra sweet."

Cissnei grinned. "Got it. Back in a jiff."

"So . . . can I ask what happened to Cloud?" Aerith asked hesitantly.

Tifa inhaled sharply. Even Zack looked solemn. An uncomfortable silence stretched among the three.

"I-I mean, you don't have to tell me, if you don't . . . want to," Aerith said, her words petering out as Zack and Tifa looked at her.

Tifa looked away again, drumming her fingers on the table. "I . . . made a mistake."

"Teef," Zack said quietly, shaking his head. "It wasn't your fault."

"Shut up, Zack." Tifa took a deep breath and looked up at Aerith. "Cloud and I . . . Cloud has this motorcycle, right? It's his baby. Before . . . the accident . . . he would just go for a long drive whenever he felt like he needed to clear his head. Sometimes, if the bar could be closed for the night, I would go with him. There was no pattern to it, no telling when he would leave. And - it's not like he would never come home. He _always_ came back, so I never worried.

"And then . . ." Tifa frowned. "About a year ago, we had an argument. He left shortly after for a drive. I don't know where he was headed; just that he was in the mountains. I called him, to apologize, and . . . I don't know what happened. He crashed."

Aerith's hand flew up to cover her mouth.

Tifa took a deep breath before finishing, "It was hours before they found him, unconscious, his bike in pieces. When he woke up, he couldn't remember anything. He still can't. He doesn't even know his own name." Her voice broke and she fell silent, her jaw clenched.

"Tifa," Zack said softly, reaching across the table.

"Okay, two of the usual and one new customer special, extra sweet," Cissnei said, reappearing with a smile and a tray of food. Her smile faltered, seeing the solemnity on the three customers' faces.

Zack was the first to recover, flashing the redhead a bright grin. "Hey, thanks, Cissnei," he said enthusiastically. Her smile returned and she set the plates down on the table.

"Anything else, you know where to find me," she said. Zack nodded and she walked away.

"So, I've been helping at the hospital ever since," Tifa said, closing the subject as she helped herself to one of Zack's fries.

"Hey, you've got your own!"

Tifa winked at Aerith, and the rest of lunch was spent in light, teasing conversation.


End file.
